Constant-bandwidth supply for priority processing

Today's consumer electronic devices feature multiple applications which have to share scarcely available resources. We consider a priority-processing-based video application, which comprises multiple scalable video algorithms (SVAs) that are executed on a shared, virtual platform. This application is given a guaranteed processor share by means of a constant-bandwidth server (CBS), which in addition efficiently reclaims all spare processor time. A decision scheduler distributes the assigned processor share among the SVAs, with the aim to maximize their overall output quality. To correctly distribute this processor share we introduce the concept of a virtual timer. This timer only advances when its associated virtual platform is executing.